The Latest from the Steampunk World

Thoughts on Steampunk Music by Painless Parker

Steampunk music is an especially hard thing to pin down. There are so many different bands with a variety of different sounds and themes which makes wrapping up Steampunk music into a conveniently wrapped parcel that defies debate or exclusion next to impossible.

For a lot of people, this makes it really difficult to talk about Steampunk music. Some even insist that there is no such thing as “Steampunk Music.” I am not of that persuasion; in fact, I cannot conceive of Steampunk in its current form without music.

Contributing to the larger debate on Steampunk music as a whole is an interesting article by Painless Parker entitled, “Thoughts on Steampunk Music.” Here’s a short selection from the article:

There are many fundamental questions to ask when searching for an intrinsically steampunk sound: who is producing music? How is it being distributed and consumed? How do musical tastes differ between classes, nationalities, trades, and so forth? Is music being used to unite people? To divide them? What is considered high art, what is considered popular vulgarity? How are different traditions interacting? What instruments are being used? How are they evolving?